1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to orthopedic devices and methods for attaching flexible members to a bone, and, more particularly, to such devices and methods for attaching flexible load-bearing members within a tunnel of a bone.
2. Description of Related Art
Orthopedic surgical procedures sometimes require an attachment (or reattachment) of a flexible member to a bone. The flexible member might comprise soft tissue such as a ligament or tendon, a synthetic element, or suture. Devices and methods are known in the art to accomplish such an attachment, including those for affixing the flexible member within a hole of the bone.
For example, it is known to use a member such as a screw to press at least one end of the flexible member against the interior wall of a bone space (Mahony, U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,843; Roger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,878; Steininger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,767; Huebner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,811; Laboureau, EU 0 317 406). It is also known to anchor a ligament between two elements, the inner one deformable (U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,431), and to pass a ligament through a center of a device, creating tension by relative movement of elements (DeSatnick, U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,184).
A particular surgery in which flexible member attachment is required is endosteal fixation, wherein the terminal ends with bone plugs of an anterior cruciate ligament graft replacement material are attached within bone tunnels. The attachment is often achieved by compressive or interference fit means.
However, there is no known effective method for securely affixing two free ends of an entirely soft tissue graft (i.e., without bone plugs attached) so that the entire fixation element is confined within the bounds of the bone tunnel.